New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided 10 locations in and around the Shaheen Bagh area in Delhi Thursday in connection with the Kozhikode train arson case.
According to the agency’s statement, searches were carried out on properties of accused Shahrukh Saifi and other suspects.
Saifi, a carpenter by profession, was arrested on 6 April for allegedly spraying an inflammable liquid in a moving train that had pulled out of Kozhikode on 2 April. The compartment then caught fire.
Rahmath M. (42), her two-year-old niece Zahra, and K.P. Noufiq (39) died after they jumped off the Alleppey Kannur Executive Express trying to escape the fire and save their lives. Eight others were injured in the incident.
“NIA’s probe so far has revealed that Shahrukh Saifi was a follower of various radical Islamic preachers, including Zakir Naik, Pakistan-based Tariq Jamil, Israr Ahamed and Taimoor Ahmed,” the agency said in the statement.
Saifi was apprehended by the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad from Ratnagiri. A resident of Shaheen Bagh, Saifi started working as a carpenter after he completed Class 12 from an open school. On 17 April, the NIA took over the probe from the Kerala Police.
During the searches conducted by the NIA Thursday, several digital devices including mobile phones, laptops, phones, hard disks and other documents were seized.
Saifi had left home 31 March and his family reached out to the Delhi Police with a missing complaint on 2 May. He has also been booked under sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, UAPA.
Saifi himself suffered burns in the train fire,and reached Maharashtra in an Ajmer-bound train. He visited a hospital after getting off at the Kalambani railway station.
After he fled the hospital, the information about Saifi’s injuries was shared with the police. Saifi has no prior criminal record.
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